Deliberate Practice in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy

Shannon Dames, RN, MPH, EdD, is chair of psychedelic-assisted therapy programming and a nursing professor at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, British Columbia. She has expertise in resilience development and psychedelic-assisted therapy research and education. Dr. Dames’s work focuses on the collaborative, interdisciplinary development of equity and culturally informed service delivery, research, and education infrastructure development in the re-emerging field of psychedelic-assisted therapy. Her work acknowledges multiple ways of knowing, with a specific interest in collaborating to understand how Western and Indigenous ways of knowing might be shared for the healing benefit of all.   Andrew Penn, MS, PMHNP, is a clinical professor of nursing and a researcher at the Translational Psychedelic Research Program at University of California, San Francisco, where he teaches psychopharmacology and clinical psychiatry, and an attending nurse practitioner at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Hospital. He has taught around the world, including SXSW, Aspen Health Ideas Festival, TEDx, and the Singapore Ministry of Health. He is cofounder of the Organization of Psychedelic and Entheogenic Nurses (https://www.openurses.org/) and has advocated for and written about nursing in psychedelic therapy in the American Journal of Nursing and the Journal of Humanistic Psychology. Visit https://www.andrewpennnp.com/.   Monnica Williams, PhD, is clinical psychologist specializing in cognitive behavior therapies. She is a professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Ottawa, Canada research chair in mental health disparities, and director of the Laboratory for Culture and Mental Health Disparities. She is the clinical director of the Behavioral Wellness Clinic in Connecticut, and Behavioural Wellness Clinic in Ottawa. She was also director of the Center for Mental Health Disparities at the University of Louisville in Psychological and Brain Sciences (2011–2016). At the University of Connecticut (2016–2019), she had appointments in psychological science and psychiatry.   Joseph A. Zamaria, PsyD, ABPP, is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, where he is associate program director for psychotherapy for UCSF’s psychiatry residency and an attending psychologist in UCSF’s outpatient psychiatry clinics. Dr. Zamaria has worked for years as a therapist and researcher in clinical trials of psychedelic-assisted therapy to treat a range of conditions. Additionally, he is on the faculty at UC Berkeley within the Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics, where he directs the psychotherapy and clinical science curricula.   Tony Rousmaniere, PsyD, is program director of the Sentio Marriage and Family Therapy graduate program, and executive director of the Sentio Counseling Center. He has authored many books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training and is coeditor of the book series The Essentials of Deliberate Practice(APA Books). In 2017, Dr. Rousmaniere published the widely cited article in The Atlantic Monthly, “What Your Therapist Doesn’t Know.” Dr. Rousmaniere supports the open-data movement and publishes clinical outcome data at drtonyr.com. He is president of Division 29 of APA.   Alexandre Vaz, PhD, is director of training at the Sentio Marriage and Family Therapy graduate program and Sentio Counseling Center. He has authored many books on deliberate practice and psychotherapy training and is coeditor of the book series The Essentials of Deliberate Practice (APA Books). Dr. Vaz has held multiple committee roles for the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI) and the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR). He is founder and host of “Psychotherapy Expert Talks,” an acclaimed interview series with distinguished psychotherapists and researchers.

Series Preface
Tony Rousmaniere and Alexandre Vaz
Acknowledgments

Part I. Overview and Instructions
Chapter 1. Introduction and Overview of Deliberate Practice and Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
Chapter 2. Instructions for the Therapeutic Approach for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Deliberate Practice Exercises

Part II. Deliberate Practice Exercises for Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Skills
Exercises for Beginner Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Skills
Exercise 1. Redirecting to the Body
Exercise 2. Compassionately Witnessing Strong Emotions
Exercise 3. Exploring Intentions and Expectations
Exercise 4. Cultural Considerations: Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities
Exercises for Intermediate Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Skills
Exercise 5. Boundaries and Informed Consent
Exercise 6. Responding to Relational Ruptures
Exercise 7. Working With the Client's Internal Conflict
Exercise 8. Addressing Transference
Exercises for Advanced Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Skills
Exercise 9. Navigating Strong Emotions
Exercise 10. Making Sense of the Experience: Integration I
Exercise 11. Working With Disappointment: Integration II
Exercise 12. Embodying Insights: Integration III
Comprehensive Exercises
Exercise 13. Annotated Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Practice Session Transcript
Exercise 14. Mock Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Sessions

Part III. Strategies for Enhancing the Deliberate Practice Exercises
Chapter 3. How to Get the Most Out of Deliberate Practice: Additional Guidance for Trainers and Trainees

Appendix A. Difficulty Assessments and Adjustments
Appendix B. Deliberate Practice Diary Form
Appendix C. Sample Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy Syllabus With Embedded Deliberate Practice Exercises

References
Index
About the Authors